Publishing the book did not complete the work. It made Sanjog more accountable to living it.
A book can explain the work. It cannot live it for you.
When I published The Tricycle Way, I did not think the work was over.
But I also did not fully understand how much the book would hold me accountable.
Writing something is one kind of commitment. Living it after others have read it is another.
The Tricycle Way came from my own imbalance. Success had become a wobbly unicycle. I had one wheel moving fast, but not enough stability to protect satisfaction and smiles. That image came from life, not branding.
I had nearly lost my family. My health had suffered. I had built things while neglecting the people and presence that should have made the building meaningful.
I wrote about that arc in From software programmer to media entrepreneur and author. But the book did not make me a finished person. It gave me a clearer mirror.
After the book, I could no longer hide behind not knowing.
If I was absent at home, I knew. If I chased work in a way that cost connection, I knew. If I preached balance while living imbalance, I knew.
That is the uncomfortable gift of a framework. A good framework does not let you keep pretending.
The Tricycle Way taught me that ideas matter only when they return to daily life. A model is easy to admire. It is harder to practice when the phone rings, the client needs something, the business is under pressure, and the family is waiting.
I still get it wrong. That is important to say. The book did not remove my old patterns. It gave me a way to notice them sooner and return faster.
This is why I do not want The Tricycle Way to be treated as a neat self-help concept. It came from damage. It came from repair. It came from trying to become someone my family could feel, not just respect.
Success, satisfaction, and smiles are not decorative words to me. They are reminders that one wheel is not enough.
If the work I build does not help me become more present, more useful, and more human, then the work is not carrying the purpose it claims.
A book can explain the work. It cannot live it for you.
That part is still mine.
Questions worth asking
- What idea have I written or spoken that I still need to live more fully?
- Where is my work asking for one wheel while life needs three?
- What would returning faster look like?